The Gracious Few (album)

The Gracious Few
Studio album by The Gracious Few
Released September 14, 2010
Genre Hard rock, alternative rock
Label Questionable Entertainment
Producer Jerry Harrison
Singles from The Gracious Few
  1. "Honest Man"
    Released: June 8, 2010
  2. "Appetite"
    Released: October 5, 2010

The Gracious Few is the debut studio album by rock supergroup The Gracious Few.

History

Chad Gracey

Drummer Chad Gracey explained the album's sound, "We knew we wanted to be a little harder than what Live had been doing and even what Candlebox had been doing. Chad Taylor comes up with a lot of the riffs that we start the songs from and he was just playing this real sort of heavy, bluesy stuff. Once we heard that we were like, 'Wow, this is kind of a Led Zeppelin, throwback feel' and it just sort of happened. We didn't consciously decide...those were just the songs that started flowing."[1]

The first single released was "Honest Man". Singer Kevin Martin said of the song, "It reminds me of my father. He was a World War II veteran. He believed in the American dream with all his heart, he was the honest man of his generation. Now I turn on the television and see Americans without jobs, without food and without a chance to help themselves. This song is a wake up call to the forces of the world who would dare to stand in the way of our ability to provide for ourselves."[2]

Track listing

The Gracious Few
No.TitleWriter(s)Length
1."Appetite"  The Gracious Few, Jerry Harrison5:17
2."Honest Man"  The Gracious Few, Harrison4:13
3."Guilty Fever"  The Gracious Few, Harrison3:07
4."The Few"  The Gracious Few3:55
5."The Rest of You"  The Gracious Few, Harrison4:02
6."Crying Time"  The Gracious Few, Harrison5:29
7."Silly Thing"  The Gracious Few4:29
8."Closer"  The Gracious Few3:27
9."What's Wrong"  The Gracious Few, Mike Ruocco4:37
10."Tredecim"  The Gracious Few4:17
11."Nothing But Love"  The Gracious Few5:28
12."Sing"  The Gracious Few, Harrison5:37
13."All I Hear"  The Gracious Few4:32

Band

Album credits

  • Jerry Harrison - producer
  • Tom Lord-Alge - mixing
  • Lawrence Goldfarb - executive producer
  • Ted Jensen - mastering
  • Karl Derfler - engineer, mixing
  • Matt Cohen - engineer
  • Matt Wilenchick - second engineer
  • Femio Hernandez - mixing assistant
  • Matt Gracey - technician
  • Carson Slovak - art direction, design
  • Brad Kenyon - photography
  • Jesse Brown - logo

Reception

Professional ratings
Review scores
SourceRating
Allmusic[3]
Alternative Addiction[4]
Type 3 Media[5]
Chad Taylor

Allmusic gave the album 3.5 stars out of 5, in a generally positive review. They hinted at the difficulty in creating a 'classic rock' album without sounding 'dated' by saying that the band, "Have crafted a note of fondness (not quite a love letter) to '70s hard rock that has enough post-grunge radio polish on it to keep things in perspective."[3] A glowing review from Type 3 Media said the album contained, "An impressive collection of heavy brooding groove-laden tunes" and praised the band for, "Exploring sounds and styles they may not have been able to lay down in a studio previously."[5]

Alternative Addiction said that, "When you throw in Live, Candlebox, classic rock and Jerry Harrison doing some decent production you get a great album by The Gracious Few." In a generally favourable review they expressed a preference for the album's heavier songs, claiming that, "The band is at its best on the edgier songs where Martin is belting out vocals, when they’re not taking advantage of that some boredom can set in."[4]

Chart performance

Chart Peak
US Billboard 200 168 [6]
US Billboard Heatseekers Albums 7 [6]
US Billboard Hard Rock Albums 15 [6]

References

  1. ↑ Shengulette, Jinelle "The Gracious Few at Water Street Music Hall" Democrat and Chronicle - September 23, 2010
  2. ↑ Chad, "The Gracious Few Ready Debut Album" Alternative Addiction - June 6, 2010
  3. 1 2 Monger, James C. "Allmusic Review"
  4. 1 2 Ryan, "Alternative Addiction review" - October 20, 2010
  5. 1 2 Pierson, Kristen "Type 3 Media Review" - September 26, 2010
  6. 1 2 3 "The Gracious Few - Chart History" Billboard
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